Cultural Literacy Reflection

      At the beginning of the year, I assumed being literate in language arts meant that one had understanding in how to read and write. We have had multiple TE classes that have discussed the importance of literacy and have taught us that if students do not develop literacy skills at an early age, it is probable that they will have a difficult time excelling in their academics throughout their educational career. Through the course of the semester, I became more aware of what it means to be literate in general; having an understanding of skills in certain areas outside of language arts. After this project and exploring various literacies we could have researched, I am aware that there are multiple areas in which one can be literate and developing all of these areas can be done in the classroom. Although it may seem overwhelming to expose students to all of these literacies, it seems that being digitally literate can make this an easier task on the teacher as well as students. Even if teachers are unable to elaborate deeply on each literacy, it is possible to at least expose students to the different types of literacy that our class explored and provide them with resources to explore further on their own. 

Researching cultural literacy has enabled me to see the significance in teaching students about new literacies. In multiple classes I’ve been a part of at MSU, there’s always the discussion of how some students may not do well in testing due to varying cultural norms or how students may not comprehend readings due to cultural norms. Instead of using this as an excuse to stray away from literature that may pose various cultural views, teachers can use this as a way for students to expand their cultural knowledge. By integrating this new cultural knowledge into a new digital literacy, I saw how approachable integrating new knowledge and new technology can be. Although I had never used Mixbook before, it was easy to share new information and create something that I was proud to share to help teach about cultural literacy. Being able to create a project with an unfamiliar technology gives me the comfort in knowing that I can teach students how to utilize technology to present information and I will be able to teach them in engaging ways in the future, regardless of the information being presented. We have had readings and class discussions on diverse learners and the significance of presenting information in multiple ways to help all learners in the classroom succeed. This project has also been a way to show us that it really is not that difficult to incorporate various means of presenting information to help all students in the classroom learn. By becoming comfortable with this idea early on, there is a better chance that we will be able to practice this once we actually do become teachers.  

2. During the week we discussed diverse learners and how to effectively teach them literacy, we were given a blogpost prompt that asked us to read about a student and create various accommodations for them to ensure they were taught effectively. From this assignment, I learned that there are certain planning strategies that must be taken into account before carrying out a lesson. The only way to plan these strategies effectively is if you know the learners in your classroom well. Once teachers are knowledgeable about their students, they can begin to implement various teaching strategies to help teach students effectively. Teachers will only know what works best for students if they try different ways to teach students and monitor what works best.

Looking back at the concept map we created earlier in the semester, one of the first bullet points I placed under cultural literacy is that culture is comprised of traditions, subculture, and universals. Although teachers may assume that everything in school may be universal for students, this is definitely not the case. Everyone has their own traditions and subcultures that they are a part of in addition to many of the universal traits we have in common. As I was completing my project, I saw that there are many components of my life that I thought were “normal” of everyone growing up; when in reality this was just something that was a part of my subculture and my family’s traditions. Acknowledging this made me aware that students will also have this mindset and this can have an effect on them in school both academically and socially. It is critical that teachers take cultures into account in getting to know what works best for learners. 

In the 5^th grade classroom I am currently placed in, I have observed how various cultural differences play a role in the classroom dynamic both academically and socially. In the classroom, there are 25 students total, at least 5 different races among the students, 8 students in special education, a few who are high achieving, and a range of socioeconomic statuses. Based on what I know from students in the class, it would be important to start at the core of cultural literacy and focus on culture. I would want to teach students that culture is a social construct, rather than something that is biological. I think it would be beneficial to provide students with examples of what this means and to compare and contrast various characteristics of students’ cultures. By doing this, it may help them better understand what it means for culture to be social rather than biological. Connecting the idea of culture to their lives initially will help them realize the value of the concept and make it easier for them to relate and develop this construct. The more comfortable the students are with the idea of culture, the easier it would be for them to investigate cultural literacy. 

In terms of using Mixbook, the students would need a tutorial to help them create their own book. Since the students do vary in socioeconomic status, some of them are only familiar with using computers in the school setting. Due to this, it is necessary to show kids how to use this type of technology successfully. In the tutorial, it would also be vital to explain that the pictures should be the main focus of the book and that the text is only there to help enhance the pictures to teach about the new literacy. By having students focus more on the pictures to tell their story, this relates to their reading standard of being able to determine the theme of a story from details. Students will have to carefully choose images that provide enough detail to tell their story and enable viewers to grasp the theme.

3. Lesson: Students will be asked to create two pages to contribute to a cultural literacy Mixbook for the class.

Target area and rationale: Allowing students to engage in a cultural literacy assignment can enable students to be more open minded about their peers in the class. This lesson will give students the opportunity to see how and why students are different and may even allow some students to find similarities to those who they thought they had nothing in common with. In elementary school, topics and themes sometimes stray away from reality. Truly, the world is diverse and students must be exposed to this. This lesson will expose students to cultural differences and integrate technology in the process. Using Mixbook will help build students’ comfort level in working with technology as well as provide visual support and different means of presentation for diverse learners.

Objectives:

1.       Students will be able to utilize resources and follow the tutorials in class to help them create their own Mixbook pages.

2.       Students will be able to determine the differences between their traditions, subculture, and universal aspects of their culture.

3.       Students will focus more on the photographs they choose to help them tell their cultural story and use the text as a supplemental way to share their ideas

4.       Students will collaborate with classmates and provide feedback based on certain prompts provided by the teacher.

5.       Students will be able to identify and analyze cultural differences and similarities

Materials and Supplies Needed:

1.       Laptops

2.       Photographs from their own collection, online source, or Mixbook

3.       Notes about their culture from research, interviews, and/or personal experiences and background knowledge

4.       Journals

5.       White board/ Smart Board

Outline of Key Events

·         Intro:

o   Review concept of culture and cultural literacy

o   Explain to students that they will create two pages for a class cultural literacy Mixbook

o   They will need to choose a culture to focus on, brainstorm and research, and find pictures to add to their two pages

o   Explain the goal is to help teach other classmates about their culture. The pictures they choose should tell the story, not the words on the page.

·         Brainstorm:

o   Use the Smart Board to help students brainstorm. Call on volunteers to provide examples of various cultures in addition to providing examples for the students (i.e. youngest child, Lansing resident, someone with a disability, dancer, athlete, etc.).

o   Give students time to decide what they would like to choose to focus on for their two pages.

o   Inform students to choose a culture that they strongly identify with.

·         Research time:

o   Students will find facts on their culture to add to their pages

o   Based on this research, students will find pictures that go along with the information they would like to display on their pages

o   Students will also be encouraged to write down personal experiences or background knowledge of their culture to share with their peers on their Mixbook pages

·         Create:

o   Students can create their pages once they have found the information and pictures they would like to use

o   Remind students that pictures are the main focus and that the text is supplemental

o   Explain to students that they can ask their peers for help first and then ask the teacher. That way, students will be able to form a better understanding of how to utilize the technology

·         Explore:

o   Students’ pages will be compiled together

o   Students will then be instructed to write in their journal. Each student will receive the names of two students whose pages they are to explore and respond to. (The teacher will try to give each student someone who has focused on a different culture).

o   Students will be given prompts that they will respond to in their journals

§  What is your culture and what is the student’s culture of whom you are evaluating?

§  Is this a culture that you are also a part of but did not focus on in your project?

§  What are some aspects of their culture that are different form yours?

§  What are similarities between your two cultures?

§  What do you think _____ wanted you to learn about their culture?

§  Write one part of their Mixbook page that you wish you had incorporated on your pages.

·         Closure:

o   Discussion:

§   Using the questions I asked you to respond to, what are some things that you learned about culture?

§  Who can name some traditions that they learned about? Were these traditions similar to any you have?

§  Define what it means to have a universal culture.

§  For example, you are all students; this is a universal culture that you all share. You’re all in Ms. Tossi’s 5^th grade class; that is a subculture since it is something within your universal culture. Each of you has your own traditions in class. The way you study, what you do in the morning, etc. these are all examples of traditions you have within your subculture.

§  It’s important for us to see that we are all a part of different cultures. This is why not all of us are the same in everything that we do. This is true for every part of our lives: learning, which our friends are, what we eat, etc.

§  Who learned something new today about someone else’s culture or about their own? Explain to students that the more we explore different cultures, the more we learn and the more open we are to the differences people have.

·         Ongoing Assessment:

o   Students will develop their own Mixbooks throughout the course of the year. Rather than contribute to a whole class book, the students will be given the opportunity to create an entire book that incorporates information on their own culture as well as other cultures that they learn about throughout the year. I will provide different components that should be included in the book throughout the course of the semester for students to add to their books. Their Mixbooks will include:

§  Information on their own culture

§  Information on a different culture which they cannot identify with of someone in the classroom

§  Similarities between the two cultures

§  Identify the universal culture shared by the student and their peer, identify the differing subcultures, identify different traditions

§  Information on cultures they would like to learn more about – based off of research or interviews with people in the community